Symbolism gives a novel a deeper level of meaning and a stronger emotional effect.lord of the flies is a novel extremely rich with symbols that give it a literary value.

One of the most important of these symbols is the conch .It comes to stand for authority,democracy and civilized behaviour.Piggy is the one who always reminds the boys about the authority of the conch,while jack is the one who often violates this rule and belittles what this conch represents .Eventually this conch was destroyed and scatterred to pieces with the cruel, unhumanly death of piggy.this comes to mean the end of all civilized signs and life on the island .

Another symbol is the fire. Apart from being used in their cooking ,it is a symbol of hope and rescue. Relevantly at the end it is actually the fire blazing all over the island that attracts the passing ship.

A drawing of the shell of Strombus alatus, the Flo...

', , Laciniate Conch; length 10 cm; originating fr...

The Lodge on the corner of Moor Green Lane and Yew...

However the first fire can also be described as a symbol of destruction.when it was lighted at the begininng on the mountain top with the purpose to produce smoke to attract the source of rescue,it gradually spread and pervaded the forest causing the death of the little boy with the birthmark on his cheek.finally in the last chapter the whole island along with it's contains of fruit trees and beautiful nature is destroyed by the fire.

Also symbolic is the sow's head which represents evil.The lord of ther flies is symbolic of the surfacing through of the dormant evil inside the human heart.Actually the whole novels deals with the age-old battle between good and evil inside the human heart.

The island itself can be a double symbol of both paradise and hell supported by the painted faces of the boys and their mock hunts which strengthen the hell factor of the island with it's primitivism and savagery.

More "Lord of the Flies" by Sir William Gerald Golding essays:

... to them. Also, through Lord of the Flies and Heart of Darkness , Golding and Conrad were able to express the isolation that some of the characters were forced to endure, and the importance of restraint in dealing with one's humanity. These compelling novels leave the reader with two possible ...

... and is pursued by the others who want to kill him. Will he survive? And who is the Lord of the Flies? The story, full of suspense and horror, captures my imagination and my interest throughout. The author=s message of what mankind must guard against if the human ...

... The bonding and breaking of friendships, Ralph's obsession with getting home, and the regressions to savagery are just a few of the many aspects of Lord of the Flies . Through the entrance of the first few characters in the novel we believe many friendships are going to be formed. The ...

... Lord of the Flies Essay Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a tale of the fine line between order and chaos in society. A pack of young boys become stranded on an island and manage to survive without the laws of our civilization, loosing the will of human emotion. Jack, the leader of the ...

... The novel Lord of the Flies, written by William Gerald Golding, is a remarkable piece of literature that discusses many important topics while remaining an enjoyable read. One of the important topics that is discussed in the novel is human nature. Many aspects of human nature is depicted in the ...